West Outbuilding at Corse Croft, Kinnoir, Huntly, Huntly, Aberdeenshire

Description

The west outbuilding at Corse Croft is a long, rectangular-plan, single-storey building which is thought to date from before 1782. It has a pitched roof that retains some oat straw thatch beneath a corrugated covering and part of the southwest gable is built of turf blocks. It is now in use as a store and is part of a group of detached crofting buildings which together form a U-plan courtyard. The group is sited in a rural setting, approximately three miles to the northeast of Huntly in Aberdeenshire.

The west outbuilding is laid out in two sections. The southern part, which has a door and a window to the main (east) elevation, was formerly a cottage. The northern part, which has a higher ridge height, was the byre. It is built of random rubble field stones with clay mortar and larger stones at the base. The openings are edged by irregular rubble, timber or later brick alterations. The south gable is built of rubble below cill level and regular courses of rectangular turf blocks above to the gable apex, which are lain grass-side down. The south gable has a single window in the lower left side and a later red brick chimneystack. The ends of quarter-sawn roof timbers are visible at the skews. There is an open lean-to wood store at the rear.

The shallow-pitched roof is largely covered by a secondary sheet of corrugated-iron, with a similar corrugated sheet over the rear lean-to. The southernmost section of the main roof has lost its corrugated sheet and is covered in plastic sheet and supported on temporary metal supports (2017). The doors are boarded timber and the windows are various styles of vernacular timber-framed or fixed-pane glazing.

The interior of the south part of the building was seen in 2017. There is some loss of the interior detailing as a result of its condition (2017). The interior walls are clay-plastered and whitewashed. The southern gable of the building has brick supports and chimneystack to a corbelled and plastered stone lum with an iron lintel and a segmental arched opening. There are remnants of a timber room divider and the northern half of the building retains some timber stall dividers. The roof structure comprises roughly sawn A-framed timber roof trusses (largely 20th century replacements/insertions) set into the wallhead, with rough, quarter-sawn sarking boards. There is some oat straw thatch over the sarking, which is overlaid with clay in parts. Remnants of the timber boarded ceiling remain to the edges.

A dry-stone rubble boundary wall adjoins the southeast corner. There is a shorter, single-storey, rubble outbuilding with a corrugated roof to the east side of the courtyard, which is thought to date from the late-18th century. A single-storey farmhouse with attic forms the north part of the courtyard and is thought to date from around the mid-19th century. Both buildings appear to have been extensively altered, including early 21st century extensions to the rear of the farmhouse.

Historical development

The west outbuilding at Corse Croft, along with that across the courtyard to the east, are both first shown on Milne's 1782 plan of the Gordon Estate, labelled 'Crofts of Corse'. The west building is depicted as having a very long and narrow footprint with a large yard to the rear. By the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey Map (surveyed 1871, published 1872), the footprint of the west building had been significantly reduced, largely matching that which survives today. From this map evidence, there is a possibility that the surviving turf gable may have once been an internal dividing wall. It may then have become an external gable when the building's footprint was reduced sometime in the late 18th or early to mid-19th century.

The 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (1872) also shows that by this time an additional building had been constructed to the north side of the courtyard. This is thought to be the present dwelling house. The map also shows a small walled garden to the north of the current house and a well behind the west building. A neighbouring croft is located around 200 metres to the west and the map names the two separate groups of buildings as the 'Crofts of Corse of Kinnoir'.

The Statistical Account (1791-99) records that the Duke of Gordon was the proprietor of all the lands around Huntly in the late 18th century and it is believed that both crofts were in the ownership of the Gordon Estate until around 1918-1920. It was a tenant's responsibility to maintain their buildings irrespective of the landowner. The Statistical Account (1791-99) records that small farmers around Huntly were poor and unlikely to have surplus funds to develop their buildings beyond the most basic requirements. This may be one reason why the Corse Croft building has largely remained in a simple late-18th century form.

The Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note, TAN 13 (p. 67) states that both oral tradition and the presence of a fireplace in the gable end indicate that the south end of the west outbuilding was originally a dwelling. This theory is supported by information from the current owner (2017) who understands that the south end of the building was lived in until just after the Second World War. TAN 13 notes that RAF photographs from 1948 show that the buildings had corrugated roofs by that time.

Newspaper articles from the 1930s and 1940s record that Corse Croft was being actively farmed and its stock was being sold at auction marts in Huntly over that period. An advert in the Aberdeen Press and Journal from 1978 advertises a large sale at Corse Croft which included vehicles, farming implements and household furniture. This suggests the late 1970s may have been the last time the croft was farmed and it is possible the building has been used for storage since that time.

TAN 13 (pp. 67-74) outlines the results of a survey that was undertaken to investigate the building's fabric around 1998. The corrugated sheet was removed from part of the east pitch and a technical analysis of the thatched roof was carried out. It was found that much of the loose material had fallen or gathered lower down the pitch and there was no thatch remaining in the top metre either side of the ridge. Some of the roof timbers were replaced as a result of the investigative works.

The survey recorded the full botanical analysis of the thatch, which found it was mainly made of oat straw with some broom to the eaves and overdoor. The conclusion from the report was that all of the structure above the sarking probably related to one thatching and that the building may have only been thatched once in its lifetime (apart from minor repairs). No conclusions were made regarding the age of the thatch covering but the oat straw sampled retained a reddish/pinkish hew. This is noted as a feature of some older varieties of oats that were grown from the late-18th century and into the early 20th century (pp. 70-71).

The report noted that it was likely that the corrugated sheet was added to the roof during the early 20th century. Following the investigative work of the survey, the condition of the thatch has further declined in the intervening years. In 2015 part of the corrugated roof was damaged in a storm and there are temporary props inside to support the roof.

The turf wall to the south gable was also the subject of a study in the Historic Scotland Technical Advice Note, TAN 30 (2006: pp.57-61, 81-82) which related to Scottish Turf Construction. This study concludes that the turf wall is likely to be the oldest surviving part of the site, however it noted that it was possible that it was built to replace an earlier claywall gable which may have fallen down (p. 58). The study notes that parts of the turf wall were repaired using traditional methods and materials around 1996. This was finished with a thrown mudwall harl and several coats of limewash but, by 1999, it was noted that the finish was cracking and the harl had broken away in several areas (pp. 60-61).

The present dwelling building to the north of the west outbuilding was substantially extended around 2007.

Statement of Interest

The West Outbuilding at Corse Croft, meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:

It is an early and rare surviving example of a traditional building type and method of construction, which was once prolific across the central, eastern and southern regions of Scotland.

It is one of only around eight thatched buildings in the Aberdeenshire area and one of only a small number of thatched buildings that survive in the whole of Scotland.

There has been some loss of historic fabric due to the condition, but it continues to show traditional construction methods and materials of the pre-Improvement period.

It appears to be relatively unchanged from its late 18^th century footprint and form and retains a significant proportion of its historic fabric and character, particularly when compared to other surviving thatched buildings of a similar date.

It contains remnants of historic thatch, the survival of which is very rare and is important in demonstrating early thatching techniques in the northeast region.

The gable is a rare surviving example of turf brick construction in Scotland which has been repaired using traditional materials and techniques.

It makes a significant contribution to the historic setting of the former group of crofting buildings at Corse Croft and aids our understanding of how the group developed and functioned.

Architectural interest

Design

The design and construction of a building, the method of thatching and the thatching material used was a distinctly localised practice. The best examples of local vernacular buildings will normally be listed because together they illustrate the importance of distinctive local and regional traditions.

The west outbuilding at Corse Croft is constructed and repaired using materials and methods that are characteristic of traditional buildings in this part of Scotland. It is built of simple claywall construction using locally sourced field stones gathered from the land, with traditional turf construction to the upper part of the south gable. The roof retains some of its thatched covering, which has a long history as a roofing material in Scotland. Thatched buildings are often single-storey cottages or crofthouses, which are traditionally built, reflecting pre-industrial construction methods and materials. The survival of this building type into the 21^st century is extremely rare (see Age and Rarity for more information).

The traditional thatching material in this area would have been oat straw, which was the common thatching material across much of Scotland prior to the planting and cultivating of the Tay reed beds in the 18th century. Extensive reed beds were also planted in Errol, Powgavie and Seaside in 1836. This increase in the availability of reed for thatching meant that by the early part of the Improvement period there was a noticeable decline in individual regional thatching techniques in the northeast. As a result, most surviving thatched buildings in this region are thatched in reed. The use and retention of the oat straw roof at Corse Croft means that it is a rare surviving example of a regionally individual thatched roof.

The type of thatching methods varied widely over Scotland in the 18^th century and Aberdeenshire has a history of diverse local techniques. From about 1785 the most widespread method in the northeast of Scotland was stob-thatching, where small amounts of thatch material are forced down into an underlying basecoat and are held down by forked sticks or 'stobs'. In Aberdeenshire by the early 19^th century, this method had largely replaced the earlier Highland tradition in which the thatch was held down by ropes on top of the roof.

The method of thatching on the outbuilding at Corse Croft appears to be similar to the known historical techniques of stobbing in Moray and Nairn, where straw was laid in courses and the upper half of each course securely bedded in clay. However, at Corse Croft the method varies slightly, comprising alternating layers of clay and thatch. Often with the stobbing method in this area, the gables and ridges were finished off with a layer of thick sods of earth held in place by clay.

From at least the late-18^th century a variation on this method of thatching developed in the northeast of Scotland, including the Huntly area. In this method, which was employed at Corse Croft, the whole roof was covered in a layer of watery clay. This was thought to provide a very robust and weather-tight covering as it allowed the clay to wash into the thatch rather than off it. This regional variation endured in the northeast until at least the 1930s, but remaining examples of this technique are extremely rare. Corse Croft is of special architectural interest as a rare surviving example of this regional method that is thought to originate from before the Improvement era.

Authenticity of material can be an important factor in assessing the significance of thatched buildings, however buildings which have been repaired over time (perhaps with new roofing material or rethatched) can also be listed. The retention of the overall traditional character of vernacular buildings is therefore important in determining their special architectural or historic interest.

Photographs show the building may have lost some elements of the roof covering in recent years however a significant amount of the original fabric is thought to survive. The thatched roof at Corse Croft is believed to date from at least the early to mid-19^th century but may even pre-date 1780. Most surviving thatched roofs have been rethatched or significantly repaired, as is regularly required. It is extremely rare to find such an early example of thatched roof in Scotland, particularly one that remains largely in the form in which it was first laid and displays regionally distinctive thatching materials and methods.

The upper part of the south gable of the Corse Croft outbuilding is built of turf blocks which are laid in regular courses. Turf is one of the simplest methods of building with earth and was a common material used in the construction of vernacular buildings across much of Scotland. It was easily accessible, it could be cut with simple, relatively inexpensive tools and the fibrous roots held the material together during the building process. A strong bond could also be made across the individual blocks by using the turf soon after it had been cut and encouraging the roots to continue to grow.

There were many variations in how the turf was cut and lain and it could be combined with other materials, such as wattle or stone (either as a base course, in alternating courses or as a facing). As at Corse Croft, the blocks were usually lain in a bonding pattern similar to those of brick structures and could be rendered both internally and externally.

Due to the agricultural and industrial improvements of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, the use of turf as a building material declined in the 19^th century, and by the 20^th century was largely confined to isolated rural areas such as Lewis. Walker (1979) recorded that there were a number claywall and masonry structures in the local area around Corse Croft that incorporated turf in the construction of their upper gables. This indicates that turf was still being used in this area (to some extent), long after masonry construction became more readily established (TAN 30: 58-59).

The turf wall at Corse Croft outbuilding was restored in the late 20^th century using traditional earth walling techniques and carefully matched materials sourced from the local area. A thrown mudwall harl and several coats of limewash were applied after these repairs were completed but this outer finish is no longer extant (2017). The current form of the gable appears to be largely unchanged from when it was built, and a significant amount of earlier fabric and detail remains.

The surviving number of buildings with turf walls in Scotland is believed to be very small. Corse Croft is of special architectural interest as a rare surviving example of historic turf wall construction that has been repaired using traditional methods and materials. It is largely in its original form and displays the use of local materials and techniques that pre-date the improvement period.

The west outbuilding is made up of two sections which together form a long, rectangular-plan building that forms the west side of a U-plan courtyard. Narrow rectangular-plan forms are typical of vernacular buildings because the expense of suitable roof timber restricted the depth which could be spanned. Cottages and outbuildings in this area usually had gable ends.

The plan form of the west outbuilding was partially altered in the period between Milne's map of 1782 and the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1871), when a former section adjoining to the southwest was removed. However, the footprint of the remaining part of the building appears to have remained unchanged, adding to the special architectural interest.

The interiors of these traditional thatched cottages in Scotland were often simple, many of them have been refurbished and historic features no longer survive. The surviving fireplace and timber dividing wall within the interior of the west outbuilding at Corse Croft suggests that this part of the building may have been a dwelling. It is likely it was not always used as the main dwelling on the croft because the main house also appears on the 1^st Edition Ordnance Survey map. The building is believed to have been lived in until just after the Second World War, although it is likely that the interior would have been simple and dated from the earlier 20^th century when it fell out of use. After the Second World War is believed to have been used as a general use agricultural ancillary building.

The historic footprint of the building and its thick walls are evident in the deep window and door openings. A simple rendered stone fire surround and chimney piece survive against the south gable. These are evidence of when the building was in early use as a dwelling in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The quality and condition of the interior has been affected by the condition of the building however a number of authentic details survive, adding to the special interest of the building.

In its current form, the west outbuilding at Corse Croft retains a significant proportion of its 18th century vernacular character and fabric. It is of particular interest for the oat and clay thatch and the turf gable, which are important characteristics of pre-Improvement vernacular construction in this part of Scotland. The survival of such features is extremely rare. The thatched roof may be unique even amongst the small number of thatched buildings that remain in Scotland because it is believed that thatch material may date to the 19^th or 18^th centuries. The survival of this thatched outbuilding informs our knowledge and understanding of vernacular building traditions within the northeast region.

Setting

The west outbuilding is located in a rural location approximately three miles to the northeast of the town of Huntly. It is part of a small group of agricultural buildings that make up Corse Croft. The surrounding agricultural landscape is of open cultivated fields with wooded areas to the south and east. The Burn of Auchmill is short distance to the north (approximately 200m) and flows towards the River Deveron, which is 1.5km to the west.

The immediate setting of the outbuilding has remained largely unchanged from that shown on the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1871, published 1872). There have been significant additions to the main dwelling house in the early 21^st century, however these are mostly to the rear (north). These additions do not adversely affect the character or the immediate setting of the west outbuilding, or that of the group, adding to the special interest under this heading.

The wider setting of the group has also remained largely unchanged since at least the 1870s, further adding to the interest under this heading. The west outbuilding is shielded from view from the main (unnamed) road by the other buildings at Corse Croft. However, it is an important survivor that tells us about the historical function, layout and early character of this rural area of northeast Aberdeenshire.

The neighbouring set of buildings to the west are evident on the first edition Ordnance Survey map (surveyed 1871) and, along with Corse Croft, were labelled 'Crofts of Corse of Kinnoir'. Some of the buildings in this neighbouring group have been replaced, altered or removed since the later 19^th century but their retention adds some interest to the wider setting of Corse Croft.

Historic interest

Age and rarity

The survival of thatched buildings into the 21^st century is extremely rare. A Survey of Thatched Buildings in Scotland, published in 2016 by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), found that there were only around 200 buildings with thatched roofs in Scotland. Those which retain their traditional vernacular character, including plan forms and construction techniques may be of special interest in listing terms.

The industrial and agricultural revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries transformed areas of this region in a fairly short period of time and as a result, relatively few thatch buildings survive in the northeast. The west outbuilding at Corse Croft is one of only around eight buildings with thatched roofs that are known to survive in Aberdeenshire (SPAB, pp. 7-24).

The building is of further interest under this heading as the thatched roof is believed to date from the 19^th century or earlier. This is very unusual because the majority of thatched roofs in Scotland have been rethatched and repaired over time, often using materials and methods that were not local. The roof at Corse Croft is extremely rare as it retains an early thatched roof that displays regionally distinctive materials and construction techniques.

The turf gable is likely to be the oldest part of the building, and with the exception of some repair works, remains largely in its original form. This adds to the special interest of the building under this heading as there are very few examples of historic turf wall construction that are known to survive across Scotland. It is an important surviving feature that aids our understanding of historic construction materials and techniques within the northeast region.

The building has had some alterations and there has been some deterioration of its historic fabric, but it is a rare and early surviving example of its type. It also retains a greater degree of authentic built fabric when compared to other surviving thatched buildings of a similar date.

Social historical interest

Social historical interest is the way a building contributes to our understanding of how people lived in the past, and how our social and economic history is shown in a building and/or in its setting.

The west outbuilding at Corse Croft is a rare and important surviving example of a thatched vernacular building that contributes to our understanding of the development, farming practices and land use in this region of Aberdeenshire from the 18^th century on.

Association with people or events of national importance

There is no association with a person or event of national importance.

Statutory address, category of listing changed from B to A and listed building record revised in 2021. Previously listed as 'CORSE CROFT, LOANEND, KINNOIR'.

External Links

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